Various Saints And Storms
by ordinarydree
Summary: Betty Cooper had it all. Perfect redhead boyfriend, gorgeous rich best friend, a bright future, and a big reputation to uphold. She was the picture of perfection, until the personified definition of imperfect came bursting into her life and is not sure she wants it out. AU. Slightly OOC.
1. Change

_But still you stumble, feet give way  
_ _Outside the world seems a violent place  
_ _But you had to have him, and so you did  
_ _Some things you let go in order to live_

Most small towns in America are the same; the good-old fashion styled cafeteria that's probably been running for way too long, the town hall, suburban homes, high schools full of drama, and of course, safety and peacefulness. Riverdale, with the blonde blue-eyed teens and Pop's 50's styled restaurant, was absolutely no exception. That was until Jason Blossoms' body was found at the bay of Sweetriver Falls, pale as a ghost and with a hole on his forehead, and everyone then knew the safety and peace that had made Riverdale a sweet American town was gone.

Though things had changed drastically in the town, some things were still the same. Elizabeth "Betty" Cooper, Riverdale's good golden girl, still had a new fresh issue of the Blue and Gold newspaper published every Monday at 8:00 am. Archie Andrews could be seen playing for the school's football team or strumming along his guitar, and it was impossible to not hear Veronica Lodge's brand new Gucci shoes clicking on the school's tile floor or smell her expensive perfume whenever she walked by.

The town had been shaken up by a tragic, awful death that had impacted everyone at some level, but if it did not change something was the long-lasting friendship the "Three Musketeers" had.

The blonde, the redhead and the brunette, couldn't be more different from each other yet they still carried on as friends. Well, of course, two of them weren't exactly friends. Archie and Betty had been dating for as long they themselves didn't know. They were Riverdale's pride and joy, perfect straight A+ students, good families, the cheerleader and football player. High school sweethearts who were picture perfect, meant to marry and have little blue-eyed redhead Riverdale babies. That had been the plan all along.

But Jason Blossom's death had made Betty wake up and realize life was not meant to be perfect. Not even Riverdale, whom she had always thought to be the definition of perfection.

Riverdale's habitants knew change was on their way after their precious Blossom boy died, it had been assured when the son of the town's most famous serpent and drug dealer had moved to the North side and enrolled in North High School. But they believed it when said boy had been seen riding drunk in a bike with his enemy and the town's most precious taken girl.

* * *

When Jason's body had been found she had been in this exact same position. Sitting straight up as her perfectly manicured hands typed away in the old chunky computer, finishing up an article for that week's paper when her phone had buzzed with Kevin's message, announcing he had seen Jason's dead body on the shore of Sweetriver Falls.

Betty didn't know why all of a sudden this dark, strange thoughts sometimes popped up in her head, but they did. She often wondered about death, things a good girl like her wasn't supposed to, though they disappeared as quickly as they came. The scars in the palm of her hands served as proof.

Shaking off the thought, she concentrated on finishing up the article. It had to be good, no grammatical misspellings or she'll be forced to face the wrath from her parents, owners of Riverdale's News and who also read her articles, through a 20-minute lecture. Of course, Hal and Alice Cooper were more preoccupied of how it would look on them rather than her, per usual.

"Hey, sweets." Her long-time boyfriend, Archie Andrews, said as he walked inside the small room.

Betty looked up from her document, watching Archie hand her a cup of coffee with a small smile on his face. She smiled back.

"Hey, Archs." Betty replied, standing up and kissing him softly and thanked him for the coffee.

"How's the article coming up?" He asked, sitting on top of the desk. "By the way, have you seen the new guy yet? The guy is a total tool."

"I haven't actually, I came here straight from class." Betty smiled. "Aaand, I'm still struggling with some bits and pieces, my mind's too full right now."

"Oh, is there something wrong?" Archie asked, his chocolate brown eyes filled with concern.

Betty debated on telling him. How she had been having nightmares of death, how she had been having this desire to going out and get drunk and break this good girl reputation she had. How she longed, she _needed_ to stop being perfect for a second.

Instead, she smiled. Archie wouldn't understand, he too was perfect, but unlike her, he loved it. He craved perfection in everything he did, he had no desire to get away from this small town, no need to change the way he was.

"No, everything is good." She smiled.

"Perfect, then." He smiled brightly, kissing her once more before they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hi, I'm looking for Elizabeth...Golden Locks." A vaguely familiar voice said from the door.

Separating her lips from Archie's, she looked at a smirking face that belonged to a beanie-wearing guy. She groaned, putting her head on her hands. It had to be last night's guy.

"Asshole" She muttered.

* * *

A/N: Aaaah! Hi people! This is the first fanfic I've posted in FOREVER but I'm so happy to. I hope you enjoy this. SO sorry if there is any mistakes, English is not my first language and though I'm fluent, I still struggle some times. Anyway, I hope you like it and let me know what you think! :)

hugs,

Dree.


	2. Heaven and Hell

_I was biker boots and a leather vest  
You were innocence in a cotton dress  
It's a heaven on earth meets a hell of a world_

 _ **24 hours ago...**_

The only thing that could be heard on the slightly chilly afternoon of October in Sweetriver Falls was the click of a camera and the scribbling of a pen. And of course, the only person who would dare to go late at night to take pictures of a secluded area after the finding of a missing body in said area was Betty Cooper.

She had become used to doing this type of stuff. Both her noisy nature and journalist blood made it easy to do things like this, sneaking into places she could get in trouble to be in. Though this was not breaking the rules, she wasn't here for fun or the intrigue of being in the same place a kid died.

She was here for research for her article at the Blue and Gold newspaper, or at least that's what she told herself. Because if she thought of it too long, she would end up with bloody nails and wounded palms.

Snapping one last picture, she turned off her camera and took out her notepad when she heard someone stepping into a branch.

Betty froze, shivers running up her spine. She knew after Jason's murder Riverdale was not the safe, small town it once was, which made her be more alert when she was out at night. Looking around, she took out her cellphone and turned on the flashlight feature, trying to find what had made the sound.

Maybe she was just being paranoid, it could've been an animal, or even the wind, but none of that mattered when she was standing right where someone was killed. She closed her eyes for a second, letting out a sigh to calm herself before she opened them again and let out a scream.

There was a guy in front of her. He was wearing a black jacket and a black beanie with a scowl on his face. He looked mad, more like annoyed and Betty took a step back.

"Calm down, golden locks, I'm not going to kill you." The guy said, rolling his eyes before smirking. "Yet"

Her blue eyes bulged, swallowing hard. Betty's frightened face turned into confusion when the guy started laughing.

"What...who?" Betty stammered, trying to put herself together. "Who the heck are you?"

The guy stopped laughing, though a teasing smirk still remained on his face.

"Jughead." He said simply, walking towards the yellow tape that said 'Keep out'. "And I'm not here to kill you, by the way."

"Jug... whatever. I don't care. What are you doing? You're not supposed to be here; it says Keep Out of a reason." She said, crossing her arms.

"Oh, and you are allowed?" He said with a questioning face, raising an eyebrow.

"I have certain... privileges." Betty said, raising her head high.

Jughead chuckled, shaking his head in what seemed disbelief.

"Of course you do. Look at you." He signaled at her. "Your perfectly ironed clothes, your perfectly styled hair. You're blonde, you're white, you're probably a cheerleader. Of course you have privileges."

Betty blushed angrily, feeling attacked but had nothing to say back because it was true. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, looking and acting perfect gave her privilege.

"Fine, sure, those things give me privilege." She shrugged, walking in front of him and looking him straight in the eye. "But it's my brain and amazing writing skills that allow me to be in places I shouldn't be. Now, I ask you, who are you? What are you doing here?"

He looked taken back for a moment, crossing his arms to his chest and looking at her annoyed.

"Are you always this noisy?" He asked.

"I'm a journalist, of course I am" Betty smirked.

"Journalist, sure, future-stepford wife." Jughead said walking and sitting on top of a big rock, chuckling at her offended face.

"I will not be a stepford wife." Betty said sternly.

"Ooh, hit a nerve there?" He smirked.

"Let's make one thing clear." She said determined. "I will not be called golden locks, or a step-ford wife. I'm a fucking amazing journalist who will be someone someday, unlike others who wear ripped clothes and hang in forbidden places at night for no real reason. Go fuck yourself."

Walking away, all she heard was silence when she suddenly heard laughter.

"Sweet dreams, Golden Locks!" She groaned.


End file.
